The shadows within us

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Crystal

I stand by my balcony looking down the street.

He’s there again tonight.

Hidden within the shadows, but his silhouette is visible enough for me to see it.

Tall.Still.Watching.

Who is he?

Is he the reason my sister disappeared? Is that why I’m here in Alabama, tearing my life apart to search for her?

Maybe he knows something.

Maybe he's the reason Evelyn vanished.

A cold wind slides through the gap between the balcony doors making the hair on my arms rise. I don’t move. I count his shadow.

One. Two. Three minutes.

He doesn’t shift. It's as if he knows I’m watching.

My chest tightens. I walk back into my dorm room and shut the balcony doors behind me, locking both latches. The click sounds too loud in the silence.

Tonight, I’m going back to the administrative office to check for my sister’s file.

Since no one here seems to care about what happened to her, I’ll figure it out myself.

With no one’s help.

“Crystal, are you coming to the party?”

My roommate Hazel asks from the doorway, already glowing beneath her makeup.

“No. Actually, I have an assignment to complete. You can go ahead and leave me behind,”

I sit at my study table. Picking up a pen even though I’m not writing anything.

“Okay, but you’re missing out, Charlie,” she pauses, “You should be out there dancing and partying like us, not stuck in here doing assignments.”

“I know, right?” I say sarcastically, without looking up.

“It’s not a joke. I’m being serious. Let’s go,”

She replays, her voice turning low. She does this when she gets hurt.

I’m not hurting her. I just can’t go out. Not tonight. I have to find out more about my sister.

“Haz, I have to submit tomorrow. So there you go.”

My voice comes out softer than I meant it to.

She studies me for a moment before shrugging. Then she turns and walks out in her mini dress and red bottoms, the door clicking shut behind her.

The room falls silent.

I release a sigh and walk toward my closet, pulling out a black hoodie, sweatpants, and sneakers.

Dark clothes.

Quiet shoes.

If I’m going to break into the office, I’m not doing it in heels.

I leave my dorm room and head to campus, completely forgetting about the man in the dark.

Instead of being scared, I just don’t care anymore.

I want to find my sister and leave this place.

The night air hits me like a slap.

The campus is empty. Most of the students are at the party. I don’t see any security either, which makes things easier.

I enter the main building and run to the administrative office where student documents are kept.

Medical records.

Warnings.

Disciplinary notes.

Things the university doesn't want anyone seeing.

I turn on my flashlight.

The beam cuts through the darkness, making the dust float like ash.

I begin digging in the drawers.

Evelyn Hart.

After finding nothing in the medical records, I move to another drawer and continue searching for her file.

Yet there’s nothing.

No enrollment form.

No emergency contact.

No photo.

Why does this place have nothing?

It’s as if Evelyn never existed here.

I’m about give up when I hear

footsteps approaching the office.

Slow.

Deliberate.

My breathing quickens.

My palms go sweaty as adrenaline rushes through me.

I look around desperately for somewhere to hide. I get into the supply closet and shut myself in, pulling the door until there’s only a sliver of light.

The footsteps grow louder.

Closer.

Thud.Thud.Thud .

My heart begins beating in time with them.

A shadow appears beneath the door. Then stops.

“I know you’re here, little muse,” A deep, dark voice comes through the wood.

I freeze

My fingers find the small tattoo on my hand, tracing it over the word as if it can somehow calm me.

Survive

A tattoo Evelyn and I got together.

Is it him?

How did he know I’m here?

I ask myself the stupid question. Remembering he’s a stalker. Of course he would know where I am.

“You’re not willing to come out, little muse?”

I flinch at the sound of his voice. It’s right outside the closet now.

My mind races

Does he know why my sister disappeared?

Maybe he’s the actual reason my sister has disappeared and can’t be found anywhere.

What does he have against me?

Against my sister?

Against us?

“I don’t mind waiting,” he says, his voice low, and strangely amused.

He should know better. I won’t get out of this closet. I will stay here until tomorrow, or for more days. If I have to.

But fear is crawling beneath my skin, no matter how hard I try to appear strong, I know I’m not.

The footsteps move again.

Away from the closet.

Toward the desk.

I hear a drawer open.

Close.

I can’t see where he is, so I take a peek through the crack.

When I notice his back is turned toward me, broad shoulders in a black coat, I make my move.

I slip out of the closet.

One step.

Two.

My sneakers make no sound.

And RUN.

His laughter fills the office almost immediately, echoing off the walls.

“You look so hot when you’re covered in fear, little muse. You can run but you cannot hide from me.”

I don’t stop.

I don’t look back to see who he is.

I keep running and running until I reach the dorm building. My lungs burn. My hoodie sticks to my back with sweat.

I rush inside and slam the door, turning the lock twice.

Then again for good measure. I run to the balcony doors to check if they’re locked too. They are.

When my breathing becomes steady I climb in bed. I can’t keep thinking about a man I don’t know. I need to focus on finding my sister.

And soon.

What if she's hurt?

What if she's out there waiting for someone to find her?

I just can’t imagine the pain my sister is going through right now. The thought makes my stomach twist.

I miss her so much it feels like a physical wound.

When the police told me they had done everything to find her, I nearly lost my mind.

So I took a flight to Alabama and pulled every string to get in the same university she attended.

The same place where no one is talking about her disappearance.

It’s as though my sister never existed here.

As though she had never attended here.

Evelyn isn’t just my sister. She’s my best friend. She’s the only person I ran to when it got hard and I couldn’t resolve it myself.

Not having her next to me is really hard. It has been since she disappeared.

I just need to know she’s okay.

I try to sleep, but nothing comes. I just keep tossing and turning, remembering the days I had my sister beside me.

The way she braided my hair. The way she always told me, “We survive, Crystal. Always.”

The night stretches.

Every creak of the building makes me sit up.

I check the locks again.

I check the balcony again..